


Sands Through The Hourglass

by ohkiyo



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Crack, Fluff, Gen, Humor, More tags to be added, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:54:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26193736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohkiyo/pseuds/ohkiyo
Summary: There's no better way to live life than enjoy what is in the present, and just as the sands of time continuously flow, it will ultimately reach its end the same way life does. That is why, you intend to enjoy your high school life in Shiratorizawa to the fullest; make new friends, form strong bonds, build relationships be it platonic or romantic, and the most important of all - create plenty of sweet memories.« ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ »NOTE: Please read the beginning notes in the first chapter for an explanation.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Take A Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each of the chapters’ contents may look familiar, it's because they were supposed to be just independent one-shots. However, I started to realize that it might become some sort of a mini-series since they're all vaguely connected, although I didn't mention it before. So I decided to put them under one title instead. Hopefully, this clears up the confusion.

Shiratorizawa Academy is known as one of the top schools in the prefecture, not only because do their students excel in sports; they make sure that they excel in academics as well. Students are expected to perform their best, especially those who were accepted through the school’s sports scholarships. Student workloads increase as they reach their second year and third year, while the first years were still lightly breezing their way through high school.

So when morning practice came (Y/n) was quite surprise when most, if not all, the upperclassmen regulars were looking quite sluggish. They were quiet, as she had observed from her spot on the bench, as they entered the gym already in their practice clothes and started stretching. She blinks, surveying the area to look for her fellow first year to see that he was as energetic as ever. Nevertheless, she just shook her head, dismissing it as some sort of morning blues; morning practice starts quite early so she understands if they were wishing that they were still in bed.

However, when afternoon practice came, she can still see that they were still looking a bit tired, stressed, was what she would call it. They seem to be back to their normal state however, as Tendou was already bothering the others like he normally did.

“Ne, ne” she called, catching Goshiki’s attention “Are the senpais okay?”

Goshiki blinks at her question, as he stood beside her observing them himself. Unfortunately, Goshiki was not blessed with the same skill set as her so he just shrugs his shoulders and said, “They seem fine”

“No, no. They look…” she paused for a moment as if trying to look for the right words to say “…tense”

Goshiki hummed, rubbing his chin “Now that you mention it, Shirabu-san does look a bit cranky than usual”

“Right? Right?”

“But Ushijima-san’s looking fresh as ever though” he pointed out as they turned their attention to the said captain, who as usual was donning that serious and intense look on his face as he talks to Semi. They sweatdrop, before turning to look at each other.

“It’s probably because they have more requirements than us, I remember Tendou-san complaining about another research paper yesterday”

They stayed quiet for a moment before (Y/n) spoke up “What do you say we throw them a surprise party?”

He turned to look at her in surprise, as she continued to explain “We haven’t done anything fun since the training camp and I’m sure the senpais would like to have a break once in a while”

At this, Goshiki immediately agreed to her suggestion, she claps her hands in delight before she started to write the idea in her notebook.

“We’ll talk about it later at dinner, but for now, let’s keep this a secret okay?” he nodded his head, jogging back to the court as Coach Saito blew the whistle, signifying that break was over.

* * *

Later that evening, the two of them sat at a table separate from the ones the other regulars were using. Normally, they would eat their meal with them, however, they need to start planning early if they want that party to be a success. By now, they had already picked out the date, choosing the last day of the month as it was a day off for the team, decorations had already been decided as well as the food they were going to serve.

“But, where are we going to get the money though?” Goshiki questioned as he read through the plans.

(Y/n) drummed her fingers on the table, biting her lip. Racking her brain for any ideas to raise money.

“Good evening Goshiki-kun, (L/n)-chan” they turned their head to look at the voice to see a familiar face.

“Good evening Higuchi-san” they greeted back, giving the girl a light bow. Watching the female’s retreating figure as she walks away, taking a seat at the table her friends are occupying.

“Doesn’t she have a crush on Kawanishi-san?”

(Y/n)’s eyebrows furrowed “She does?”

Goshiki nodded his head “I remember she asks me for a picture of him before, she even offered to pay me just for a single shot…“ Goshiki paused, his eyes going wide before he turned his head to the girl beside him.

“You know what I’m thinking right?!” he asks excitedly as (Y/n) nodded her head vigorously, immediately writing it down on her notebook

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Reon watched the two with curiosity “What are they doing?” he asks, turning to look at the people sitting with him.

“They’ve been busy talking since practice was over” Yamagata answered, watching Goshiki talking animatedly, his hands moving around making weird gestures as (Y/n) nodded her head. Occasionally writing on the notebook she brought with her as if taking note of everything he was saying.

“They didn’t even eat their food” Shirabu pointed out as they all turned to look to see that indeed, not a single one of the dishes on their tray was touched. The food tray looked liked it was pushed aside as the two of them were too busy talking to each other.

Letting out a sigh, Semi cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted “Oi! Eat your dinner first before doing anything else!”

This caught the duo’s attention as they immediately abandoned their little conversation and started gobbling down their food.

“You don’t have to yell at them you know” Tendou tutted, wagging his finger at him.

Semi clicked his tongue in response before finishing his dinner “If they don’t eat anything, they’re going to keep bothering me to give them a snack later”

“They’re bothering you because they know you’d give in anyways” Yamagata teased, grinning at him.

“You should really stop babying them Semi-san” Kawanishi added, giving him a blank look.

“…and you should not buy too many of those snacks, they are unhealthy” Ushijima just stared at him as the others snickered.

“All of you, shut up”

* * *

Days already went by and Goshiki and (Y/n) decided to put their plan into action. The first few days were used to gather the money they needed, Goshiki was in charge of taking the pictures while (Y/n)’s was tasked of looking for buyers, it wasn’t even hard considering that majority of Shiratorizawa’s female population and a few from the male have a crush on either one of the boys in the volleyball team.

Goshiki, however, was having some trouble, he had to sneak around so he could get a few exclusive shots since the girls were more than willing to pay a very high price just to have a shirtless picture of either one of them. He got caught, once or twice, but he told them that it was just for a scrapbook project for his English class.

That earned him a few suspicious looks from Shirabu.

“They’re onto me you know” Goshiki said one day, as they met up during lunch to discuss the progress of their plans.

(Y/n) just hummed in response, swiping through the pictures he took “Don’t worry, they won’t find out”

She handed to him back his phone as she opened her bento box and placed it in between them “We have enough money now, so we can start buying the things we need”

Goshiki nodded his head, taking a piece of egg roll from their shared lunch.

“I also told Sagae-kun about our little fundraising project and he told me he had a female friend who wants to take a picture with you” she wiggled her eyebrows at him, her voice teasing as a blush slowly appears on his cheeks.

“R-really?” he asks, not even daring to look at her in the eye.

“Uh-huh” she leaned in closer to him, whispering in his ear “She said that she watched you play so many times before, she even said you were cool”

She leaned back, eyeing the boy as he gaped at her. She chuckled patting his back.

“We’ll meet up with her later so keep you bangs tidy, okay ace?”

She let out a laugh as Goshiki rapidly nodded his head before stuffing his face with his lunch.

And so later that evening, after practice, Goshiki and (Y/n) hurriedly stuffed their belongings into their bag as they speed walk out of the gym to meet up with Sagae at the gate. However, this didn’t go unnoticed by the other regulars because once they were out of the door, Tendou called out.

“You two are in a hurry, where are you going?” they turned around to see the others walking over to them.

“We’re just going out to buy something” (Y/n) scratch her cheek as they just stared at them, giving them a look that clearly says they weren’t buying it. She nudges Goshiki with her shoulder as he immediately followed with his own reason.

“I-it’s for our project” the fact that he just stuttered was enough to convince them that indeed they were lying.

“It’s already 9 pm, curfew is in an hour” Ushijima stared them down, they gulped. The look on his face was scary and he wasn’t even trying, that natural intense and firm look he has had never been a problem before, so they wondered why right now they were getting scared.

“We’ll be back by 10 promise!” they didn’t even wait for a response as the both of them dashed towards the gate, grabbing Sagae by the arm who had been nervously watching the exchange and ran out of the school campus.

* * *

The next day, Semi looked around the gym to see that they were missing a few people, notably their first-year manager and their proclaimed future ace.

“Something wrong?” Reon walks up to him as the setter just keeps on looking around the room.

“It’s been 30 minutes since practice started and (Y/n) and Goshiki aren’t here yet” he answered, as Reon also looked around, just noticing that the two weren’t actually present.

“They’re in detention right now” they heard Kawanishi answered, as he walk towards them with Shirabu in tow.

Reon and Semi’s eyes widened in shock “Ha?!”

Shirabu sighed, placing a hand on his hip as he explained “Apparently, those two idiots came back around 11 pm, so they had to call the guard to let them in”

Semi facepalmed as Reon just shook his head, before walking away.

Thirty minutes later, the two missing first years came in through the door panting, yelling out a greeting to the people inside.

Stomping over to them, Semi grabbed them by the collar of their shirt and dragged them to the corner of the gym.

“Explain” was all he said, crossing his arms as he watches the two exchange looks.

“I uh-uh” the both of them couldn’t even form any words as their mind went blank. By now, Yamagata, Tendou and Shirabu had joined Semi, and with the three additional pairs of eyes, it became too much for them.

Fortunately, the gods were feeling a bit nice today. 

“Tsutomu, go do 100 serves!” Washijo-sensei yelled.

“(Y/n), I need your notes from last week” Coach Saito called, as the two immediately excuse themselves and ducked away from the four. Letting out a sigh of relief, thankful for the distraction.

After that little incident, they were required to give detailed information whenever they were out doing something that was a little too questionable, this tested their creativity in making up elaborate excuses to cover up for their actions. They had probably explored everyone inch of the school grounds as they try to find the safest place to hide as they make the decorations, to avoid any more questions.

Finally, the day of the party came, and since there was no practice, (Y/n) had to convince Coach Saito to let her borrow the gym keys. It wasn’t hard considering the fact that he was busy talking to the phone when she approaches him. She didn’t even have to explain herself when he immediately handed her the keys and shooed her out of the faculty room.

“Dinner is served at 7 pm so we need to be done by then” Goshiki said as they make their way to the gym, carrying the boxes filled with their decorations. It was already 4 pm and the students were using this time to study while those who have clubs were already practicing.

“I’ll pick up the food later at 5:30” entering the gym, they close the door behind them and immediately started decorating. Goshiki was in charge of hanging the streamers and lights since he was the tallest between the two and the only one who could reach inaccessible places, while (Y/n) prepared the table and chairs. Covering them with cloths she borrowed from the drama club and started skirting it, creating some light frills to make it look less plain.

Two hours later, the two of them were finally done. The table was already set up with foods, drinks, and eating utensils while the firefly lights from above flickered, as a soft tune from the speaker played in the background. They stood at the side, watching the result of their hard work, still not believing that they were able to complete it all with the just the two of them.

“Now, all we have to do is call them” Goshiki shot (Y/n) a grin as she mirrored him.

* * *

“This is tiring” Tendou complained, laying his head on the table, taking out the hair clip from his hair and placing it on top of his book. Currently, they were in Ushijima’s room, having a group study for an upcoming major exam, and since all of them were scholarship holders, they have to get grades higher than the required average.

Looking up from his notes, Ushijima turned to look at the time to see that it was already 6:20 pm, and they had been studying since 3:00 pm.

“Let’s take a break, we will resume after dinner”

With that, they abandoned their study materials and started scrolling through their phone, when a message from Goshiki came through their group chat. It was a picture of (Y/n) laying on the floor with her eyes close.

_‘She passed out! We’re in the gym right now, please help’_

Was all he sent before they were immediately running out of the room, not even bothering to ask him for more details. Once they were out of the dorm building, they were met with an equally worried Shirabu and Kawanishi and by the look on their face, it was clear that they had read the message as well.

So they run across the campus, reaching the gym in record time.

“(Y/n) are you alri-“ 

“SURPRISE!” they stop in their tracks, staring at the two first years standing in the middle of the gym, wide smiles on their face.

“What’s going on?” they ran to the two, inspecting for any injury.

“What’s all these?” Reon gestured to the decorations, as the others waited for them to explain.

“We notice that you guys were looking so stress so we decided to throw you a surprise party” (Y/n) explained, suddenly feeling shy.

“You two did all these for us?” Semi asks in disbelief as the two nodded their head, beside him, Tendou wiped a tear from his eye before tackling the two for a hug.

“You guys are the best kohais ever!” was all he said as the others immediately followed suit and the hug immediately became a messy tangled of limbs. A few more tears were shed, mainly from Shirabu and Kawanishi, but they wouldn’t even admit that anyway, while Yamagata and Tendou just wailed. Semi, Ushijima and Reon who were a bit more in control with their emotions, tightened their arms around the group.

“Come on, come on let’s eat” pulling away, Goshiki started pushing them towards the table as they stare at it in awe.

All of the dishes displayed on the table were all their favorite, as they had noted, with two cakes at the side and a few drinks. Gathering around the table, they said their thanks and started eating. Filling their plate with different kinds of food, not wanting to waste the effort their precious juniors had made.

From the sideline, Goshiki and (Y/n) observe the lively chatter their seniors were making, taking in the smiles on their faces.

Feeling a hand on their head they look up to see Ushijima giving them one of his rare smiles “Thank you” was all he said, there was no need for any long speech because just one look at him was enough to confirm that he was grateful for the surprise.

Grinning at each other, they shared a fist bump before they too started piling food on their plate.

* * *

“So where did you get the money?” Semi questioned, turning his body away from the table to look at them.

The two stayed quiet for a moment, not knowing what to say.

“We did a few odd jobs here and there” was Goshiki’s answer, as he let out a nervous laugh, elbowing (Y/n) to the side who almost spit out her drink in surprise.

“That’s the 15th lie you’ve told us this month, tell us the truth” Shirabu gave them a pointed look, daring them to tell another lie.

(Y/n) and Goshiki gaped at him, who knew he was actually counting.

“Well?” by now, everyone was already looking at them, and having no way out, and no more excuses to tell, they blurted out.

“Wesoldexclusivephotosofyoutoyourfans”

They blink, not understanding a single thing (Y/n) said. Taking in a deep breath, she looks at them in the eye and repeated.

“We sold exclusive photos of you to your fans”

The silence lasted for a whole minute before Tendou decided to say something “Really? That’s cool!”

“Are they high quality?” Ushijima followed, a look of genuine interest on his face.

“You’re not even concerned as to what kind of pictures they sold?” Reon said exasperatedly.

“How much did you sell it for?” Kawanishi questioned, as he looks at the two.

“Around 800 to 1,000 yen”

“You should’ve charged higher”

Semi shook his head at what Yamagata said, giving them a disapproving look.

“You’re all bad influence, every single one of you”


	2. Confusion

The shrill sound of the whistle echoed throughout the arena as the game finally ended, the score 2-0 with Shiratorizawa winning the match. You stood up from your seat, cheering alongside the school’s cheer squad at the team’s victory, you held up your hand as they gave you high fives, congratulating them as they move to stand in front of Coach Washijou to listen to whatever he has to say.

It wasn’t anything long, just a simple “Well done” and a nod of his head, it was the closest thing to a praise they could get, but who were they to complain? It’s better than running all the way back to school and do 200 serves after.

“You guys were amazing!” You said, walking behind them as they walk towards the locker room, everyone was in a good mood; the team they were playing against wasn’t much of a challenge like you had expected them to be. The new trick that they were practicing was a success when they decided to try it out a while ago, and no one was arguing with each other during the game as well, not even Shirabu and Semi.

It was a good day and a good day deserves a reward.

Tendou slowed down his walk as he slung an arm around your shoulder “Aren’t we always (Y/n)-chan?”

“Of course!” You nodded beaming at him as he laughs, pinching your cheek as he cooed at you.

“You’re too cute! First years are so cute!”

“Except for Goshiki” the mentioned first year’s head snapped to look at Shirabu, an offended look on his face as the second-year met his eyes, one eyebrow raised in a challenge “What? You think you’re cute?”

“I’ve been called cute by many people, just so you know!”

“Uh-huh”

“You’re just salty because no one calls you cute!”

You took hold of Shirabu’s hand when he raises it to slap every molecule of disrespect from Goshiki’s body, your laugh mixing in with their bickering as Semi’s shout of “Shut up!” went from one ear to another.

* * *

“Iwa-chan, have you seen my glasses?” Oikawa asks, rummaging through his bag for said item, pushing aside the other things inside as he opened every pocket in case he had overlooked them.

“Weren’t you wearing contacts earlier?” Matsukawa stood beside him, stuffing his hands in his pocket.

“I had to take them out; they were starting to hurt my eyes” Oikawa let out a sigh, closing his bag when no signs of his glasses were to be found. They were currently standing outside the arena as they too had just finished their own game, waiting for the lower years who went to buy them some food.

“I’ll send Kindaichi a text to check the changing room” Iwaizumi said, fishing his phone from his pocket and shooting a quick text to the first year. They started walking towards a shaded area, the sun’s heat becoming too much for them to handle.

“Kana-chan?!” They followed their captain’s line of sight, expecting to see his cousin. However, he was just staring at the Shiratorizawa volleyball team, who was talking to a girl wearing a jacket and track pants similar to the ones worn by the team members. Her back turned towards them but her hair color was similar to Kana. Unfortunately, Oikawa couldn’t even distinguish those small difference in details because of his poor eyesight and was now already marching towards the group

“Oi!” They run after him just in case he’d do something stupid, which he probably will.

“We can order take out later, it will be my tre-“ You let out a surprised yelp as you felt yourself being pulled back towards strong chest, arms wrapping around your shoulders. You try to struggle out of the stranger’s hold but his grip on you was too tight.

“Kana-chan, what are you doing being friendly with the enemy?!” You frown, who the hell was Kana?

“Are you trying to make her transfer to Shiratorizawa?! Well, guess what, she will never go to your stupid school!” Oikawa stuck out his tongue at them, as your teammates narrowed their eyes at him.

“Her name is (L/n) (Y/n) she is a first-year student at Shiratorizawa Academy and the manager of the boys' volleyball club” Ushijima stated, his face neutral as ever, you nodded your head pointing your finger at your captain.

“Yes, what he said” Sadly, Oikawa was too busy being angry with Ushijima that he didn’t hear you or he did and he just ignored it.

“Your manager?! She will never manage a team like yours, and her name is Oikawa Kana, a 3rd year at Aobajohsai High School!”

Goshiki, who was not liking the way Oikawa was touching you, grab your hands and started pulling you away, the same with Iwaizumi who has had enough of his teammate’s bullshit started prying him off of you. This resulted in more members from both sides joining and the next thing you knew, you were now in the middle of a game of tug of war.

They were pulling at your arms a little too hard that you feel like they might dislocate your shoulder if this continues any longer. Finally, the last bit of Iwaizumi’s patience is now gone and decided to punch Oikawa in the face, the latter letting go of your hands in surprise at the impact. He stumbled back, holding his face as he turns to the vice-captain.

“Iwa-chan what are you doing?! Now they have Kana-chan!”

“That’s not Kana, trashykawa!” a kick landed on Oikawa’s back as he let out a pained cry. Iwaizumi shoved a pair of glasses on his hand, the one he was looking for earlier, and wore it. He looks at the girl, who was massaging her shoulder from where he was holding her a while ago.

“Oh”

“Go apologize you idiot!” Oikawa stood up, rubbing the area where Iwaizumi kicked him and turned to you. However, instead of apologizing like what Iwaizumi told him, he decided to say something else.

“(Y/n)-chan, right? You’re reall-“

He stops, as you held up your hand in front of him “Please don’t say my name so casually. I don’t even know you”

Now that is a surprise, with Oikawa being so popular, even girls from different schools, coming from _different_ cities know him either by name or by face. Interested, Hanamaki steps forward pointing a finger at Oikawa “You really don’t know him?”

The look you gave him was enough to tell him that yes, you don’t know this idiot who just attacked you “His name is Oikawa Tōru, you know, that pretty guy from Seijoh”

Your eyes shifted to look at the brunette, observing his face as he gave you one of his charming smiles “He looks normal to me” You shrug your shoulders “If we’re talking about pretty guys, Akaashi-san from Fukurodani is 10x prettier”

Oikawa’s jaw slackens in disbelief, now, if it was a guy he would’ve just dismissed it as nothing, Iwaizumi insults him every day. But a girl? It’s tragic, he won’t be recovering from that one any time soon.

You turn to walk back to the bus, your body disappearing from their sight as the members surround your form, protecting you from any more similar incidents that might happen in the next minute.

“That was the first time a girl talk like that to you huh?” Matsukawa’s teasing grin only dampens Oikawa’s mood even more as the middle blocker pointed his phone at him, still recording.

“And I heard she’s very nice too, guess she just doesn’t like you” the two troublemakers share a high five, clearly not giving a crap about Oikawa’s shattered pride.

Iwaizumi let out a huff, crossing his arms over his chest “Serves you right, assykawa”

With teary eyes, Oikawa mumbled “All of you are horrible”


	3. Hello Baby

"Psst. Eita-kun wake up" Semi groaned, rolling over as he moved away from the hand shaking him up from his current slumber. Mumbling under his breath as he buries his face on the pillow pressed in his chest. **  
**

"Eita-kun, wake up this is urgent" The voice definitely sounded like Tendou, and Semi knows the middle blocker loves to mess around, the idea of annoying his teammates seems to be at the top of his daily agenda. Semi swats the hand away, mildly irritated as it keeps interrupting him and his much needed sleep.

"Something happened to Tsutomu and (Y/n)"

The others have never seen him sit up so fast before, his eyes wide as he looks around the room for said first years. Alert and ready to deal with whatever trouble the younger ones got into.

"Where are they?" Semi pressed a palm on his head, closing his eyes, feeling dizzy, he should've sat up slowly instead of perking up like a rake that got stepped on.

"They're here" Reon gestured to the two babies sitting on one of the futons, staring at them with wide eyes filled with curiosity. Semi was speechless, he was starting to think he was still dreaming so he pinch himself, letting out a hiss as the pain shot through his arm.

Okay, he's wide awake then.

"What happened to them?" The setter still couldn't fathom the sight before him, as far as he knew, when he went to sleep last night he was sure those two were still teenagers. Is it witchcraft? It can't be possible, as much as he was tempted to do black magic once just so he could get back at Tendou for that prank two months ago, he never willed into his desire and just pranked Tendou in return.

"We don't know either, when we woke up they were already like that" Yamagata scratched his head, going through his brain for any sort of weird phenomena that happened last night. They just had a barbecue, a movie marathon and a pillow fight. Nothing followed after that.

"Whatever it is, we'll just have to take care of them until it wears off I guess" Shirabu knelt down beside the two and pick up the now baby (Y/n), the clothes she had worn to bed were pooling around her as it was too big, the sleeves of her shirt were sliding down. So Shirabu made sure to properly adjust the clothes to avoid exposing any of her private parts.

Goshiki, the little cutie that he is, immediately spotted Ushijima sitting just a few feet away from him. Wanting to be held as well, he stretched out his arms towards the ace and made grabbing motions, cooing. 

Semi could feel his heart burst at the sight, was it possible for a baby to achieve a whole new level of cuteness?

"He still likes Wakatoshi even as a baby" Reon laughs, watching as Ushijima gently place the baby on his lap, tickling him on the stomach as Goshiki babbles with laughter.

"We should feed them though, (Y/n)'s hungry" Kawanishi spoke up, pointing at (Y/n) who was looking at her stomach weirdly. Her eyebrows furrowed, lips pulled down into a little frown, not liking the sounds her stomach were emitting.

She looks up at Shirabu, patting her stomach as if asking.

What?

"It means you're hungry" Shirabu answered, as if he had understood the girl's silent question. But the girl didn't seem to believe him, instead, she pressed her hands on her stomach to stop it from making any more sounds, but it didn’t work, it just resulted in it getting louder.

"But we don't have any baby bottles" Tendou said, poking Goshiki’s chubby cheeks, laughing at how the babe buried his face on Ushijima’s clothes, wanting to get away from Tendou’s finger.

“We have some spare baby materials from my sister’s baby shower” Reon stood up, leading them to one of the guest rooms and opening the closet. There was nothing inside except for the two boxes sitting on the floor. He took one out, opening it to reveal numerous baby stuffs, toys, bibs, baby bottles, and some clothes. “And there’s some baby formula left from when my sister came over”

They sighed in relief, grateful that they didn't have to go to the mall and buy baby products, they were expensive after all.

Preparing breakfast was a whole new experience, everyone was hands-on when it comes with the preparation. However, what they didn’t expect was that the babies did not like being ignored. They turned their back for a second and they could hear the two whining. Slamming their tiny hands on their high chairs, they seem to love being showered with attention that two of the members abandoned their current task and switch to playing with the babies instead. Those two being Kawanishi and Tendou.

Apart from breakfast, bath time was a very wet, very hard task to do. Since they were still little, they had to use the basins designed specifically for babies. It was calm at first, as they gently poured the water over the baby’s head. But as soon as they had become comfortable, they preferred to play in the water instead of letting themselves get cleaned. Kicking their feet and splashing their hands, the clothes Semi and Yamagata wore were soaked and they had to immediately take a shower.

“Wakatoshi-kun why don’t you just give him the rattle?” Tendou snickered, as Ushijima shakes the toy in front of Goshiki who seems to be fascinated by the contraption. Eyes sparkling in amazement each time he could hear the sounds it creates.

“He doesn’t want it though” Ushijima gave an example, he stretched his hands so the toy was closer to the baby, but Goshiki stopped him, pushing his hand back whilst shaking his head.

“It’s because he knows you won’t play with him anymore if he does take it” Reon chuckled, as Ushijima once again shakes the toy in front of Goshiki.

“He’s a smart child”

Semi switches his attention to where Kawanishi, Shirabu, and Yamagata were playing with (Y/n). The three of them sitting next to each other with the little girl in front of them. Each one, holding a stuffie, Shirabu with a bunny, Kawanishi with an owl and Yamagata with a dolphin.

“(Y/n), who’s your favorite?” they watch as the baby carefully decides which one she loves the most. She planted her palms on the futon’s soft fabric and slowly crawled towards the one she chose. She looks like she was moving towards Kawanishi’s direction and Shirabu did not like it.

“Come on (Y/n), this bunny is cute, see?” he shakes the stuffie slightly as if proves successful as (Y/n) switches directions and is now heading his way, her eyes trained on the soft toy. Yamagata wasn’t one to accept an early defeat either, and started bribing the little girl as if she understood such concepts.

“If you come here (Y/n) I’ll buy you a bigger one” both Kawanishi and Shirabu thought it won’t trick the little girl, but oh it did, because once again she redirected herself and was now heading towards the libero.

Semi rolls his eyes, before he knelt down on the floor “(Y/n)” you stop at the call of your name, sitting on your bum as you turn your head towards Semi holding out his arms wide open for you. A soft smile on his face “Come here”

“As if (Y/n) would go to you she- (Y/n)?!” the three of them watch in disbelief as you fully turn your body and start crawling towards Semi’s awaiting arms. The setter shoots them a smug look, as you rest your head on his chest, closing your eyes, tiredness overcoming your small body.

Semi lightly rock back and forth, humming a song as he gently pats your back. Taking a seat on the sofa.

“Guess, mom wins” Yamagata let out a defeated sigh.

“Ow, ow, ow Tsutomu stop” Tendou tries to untangle Goshiki’s hand from his hair but it was no use. His grip on the crimson strands were far too tight, harshly tugging on the soft locks, earning himself a pained cry from the middle blocker.

Reon and Ushijima offer their assistance but Goshiki was determined, he seems to have taken a liking towards Tendou’s bright colored hair

“It’s not nice to hurt others” Reon chastised, wagging a finger in front of the boy who seemed to just blink at his words. Not even looking guilty, nor apologetic in the slightest, but what did he expect, he was just a baby after all.

“Let’s put them to sleep, they need to rest”

So they laid down the two on the futon, as the babies were out like a light. Their chest rising up and down from each breath they took. They look so peaceful, so innocent and vulnerable, that they had the urge to protect them from the harsh world. It didn’t take them long before they too started feeling themselves becoming sleepy.

* * *

“-and that’s how it happened”

You and Goshiki just sat there, staring at your seniors as if they had just grown another head. You and Goshiki? Turned into babies? What?

“That was a very weird dream...” you trailed off, finding it odd how all of them had the same one. Synchronize dreams? Is that even a thing?

“Did you eat something weird before going to sleep?” Goshiki though did find it slightly amazing, it’s a rare phenomenon for multiple people to have the same dream at the same time, it was the first time he heard of it. 

“You gotta believe us, you two were so cute” Tendou pinch their cheeks, leaving a red mark on their face. 

Believing such an absurd story was quite far-fetched, though, it was just a dream after all. Whether you and Goshiki chose to believe them or not, it’s up to you, but they know that it happened, and it was probably one of the dreams they will remember for a long time.


	4. kefi

“What’s the answer to number 4?” Yamagata scratched his head with his pencil, staring at his exercise paper on the table, the numbers not making any sense to him anymore. He could feel his fingers starting to hurt from the number of times he had been pressing the buttons of his calculator, but he could still not find the answer he was looking for, the calculator’s screen displaying _syntax error_.

“It’s 126.76” Reon replied, not looking up from his own paper as he concentrates on his own set of problems. It had been easy, the first few questions were doable, nothing out of the ordinary, however, when he reached numbers 10 and above he swore the teacher was high when he made that exercise. I mean, what’s the point of making a multiple choice question when the answer is not even in the choices.

“What? I thought it was 116” now Semi was starting to get even more frustrated, he was sure his answer was correct, he even searched up a tutorial on YouTube on how to solve that particular equation. 

“You need to add the 10, not subtract it” Shirabu corrected, as Semi erased his current answer and started replacing it with the right one. Mumbling to himself how the fuck is calculus useful in the real world, you don’t see people adding a and b to buy a sack of rice, nor finding x to purchase fruits in the market. 

Math is ridiculous; he hopes that whoever invented this shit suffers in hell.

“Let’s rest for now” Ushijima suggested, closing his notebook as he rested his pencil on top of it. Aware of just how everyone was getting stressed. 

“Where did Satori go?” Semi looks around the room, noticing that the redhead had disappeared. “Taichi and Tsutomu too”

“They went out to go get food” 

“They did?”

Yamagata nodded his head, lazily going through the books stacked on top of Tendou’s desk, most of them were manga that he had read and re-read, while the others were borrowed books from the library that he had never bothered to return.

There was a knock on the door, as Semi who was the closest, stood and opened it to reveal the people they have been looking for a while ago.

“We’re back!” Tendou announced cheerily, a Tupperware in his hands as he entered the room, followed by Kawanishi, Goshiki, and someone unfamiliar.

“Who’s that?” Shirabu pointed, raising a questioning brow at the person’s choice of clothing. An oversized sweater, shorts that reach below their knees and swan patterned socks.

“What do you mean? That’s (Y/n)” you lift your hand up in a wave, the sweater’s long sleeve covering your own arm. A wide smile on your face, as you sat down on the floor along with them, Semi closing the door and locking it.

“What?”

No words left their mouth as they stared at you, you looked pretty convincing as a boy, the wig you wore accentuated your face just right. However, did Tendou really have you wear a wig that was an exact replica of Goshiki’s signature bowl-cut? Of all the millions of hairstyles, he could choose from, really?

“Did you just smuggle her in?” Reon asks in disbelief. “How did you do it?”

“(Y/n)’s so small nobody noticed her” you swat Kawanishi with your sweater sleeve as he snickered, ruffling your hair before opening the bag you brought with you. Taking out different containers full of food, plates, chopsticks, and other eating utensils.

“Where’d you get all these from? Did you order take-out?” Semi took a bite of the chicken strip, humming in satisfaction at the delicious taste, before taking another piece.

“(Y/n) was stress cooking again” Goshiki answered as he helped Ushijima clear the table, with you carefully placing the foods in the middle and Shirabu spreading the utensils on the table.

“Are you having problems with your academics again (Y/n)?” Ushijima inquired, pouring himself a glass of water as everyone situated themselves around the table, offering their thanks and serving themselves with the food you cooked. 

“I have an oral recitation tomorrow and I’m worried I’ll mess it up” you replied, biting on your chopstick. “The subject teacher isn’t very nice either, I’m scared of her”

“Who’s the teacher?”

“Tachibana-sensei”

Hearing the familiar name, both third years and second years involuntarily shuddered. Memories of their days as her students resurface, the struggle they experienced trying to hold onto the thin thread keeping their grades up was a bit traumatic.

Tachibana-sensei was the kind of teacher that students hate the most, she enjoys giving surprises, surprise quiz, surprise recitation, heck, even her exams are a surprise. It’s rare for her to even give her students the time to fully study their material, and for those who were under her knows that when she does, she’ll be firing questions one after the other, until her students are unable to give her answers leaving her disappointed.

“May the gods be in your favor (Y/n)” Tendou clapped a hand on your shoulder as he gave you a sympathetic smile. His eyes silently telling you _‘You’re screwed’_

Goshiki noticed the look of terror flashed on your face, your hand shaking out of pure nervousness as you almost spilled the food on your plate. Does Tachibana-sensei really have that kind of reputation? He never had her as his subject teacher in any of his classes, well for now at least, but he sure is thankful, he didn’t need that kind of problem in his first year of high school.

“Don’t scare her” Semi hits Tendou with a notebook, scolding him for scaring you as you now sat there frozen, your mind going through the possible outcomes that might happen tomorrow. 

“You’ll be fine, don’t worry about it. You’re smart” Shirabu’s words of encouragement did help you relax a little, but the fear still lingered in your mind. You felt something prodding at your lips, you focused your eyes in front of you to see Kawanishi holding up a piece of chicken near your mouth.

“Eat first, I can help you with it later” He says in between mouthfuls as you open your mouth, accepting the food. Nodding at his offer.

You will worry about your demon of a teacher later, for now, you’re going to enjoy your food.

“By the way Satori, I saw this earlier” Yamagata pulled out a scrapbook from under the stacks of manga on the desk. The front cover is littered with stickers, and doodles, a very Tendou-esque kind of design.

"Oh that's where I’ve compiled the photos I took, I’ve just started so it’s not done yet" Tendou answered, watching as Yamagata opened the scrapbook, and going through the pictures. "Photography's my newfound hobby now"

"That photography workshop was only once, I didn't know you actually took it seriously"

"It’s a form of art Eita-kun" the redhead held up a finger, going on and on about how it captures all the once in a lifetime moments we experience, and how pictures hold the memories they make together.

Tendou started getting sappy with his explanation, Semi had to shove an onigiri in his mouth to stop him from talking.

"Do you have a soft copy of these pictures Tendou?" Ushijima questioned, reading through the captions Tendou pasted around each photo. "I need a copy"

"I'll send it to you later Wakatoshi-kun" 

"You have another one?" Shirabu held another scrapbook in his hand. "How many do you have?"

"I have three" Shirabu flipped through the pages of the one he's holding, noticing that most of the pictures were of the second years in the club, but the majority of them were of him and Kawanishi. 

"Where's the other one?" 

Tendou patted around in his bed for a moment, feeling for the familiar hardbound of the scrapbook before he finally found it resting under his backpack.

"These are pictures of the first years" You became interested, peeking over Semi's shoulder as he flipped through the pages. "Oh, I remember this one." 

It was a picture of both you and Goshiki asleep inside the bus, your head resting on his shoulder and his head resting over your own. A jacket covering your bodies acting as a blanket. Below there was a text saying, _The babies first away game._

"Tendou-san, we're not babies anymore." Goshiki reasoned but Tendou refused to agree to the first year.

"Oh hush, in my eyes you two are still babies." to emphasize his point, Tendou squished both your and Goshiki's cheek. Grinning at the pout now resting on your face. "See? Just adorable!"

"You're playing favorites, you know" Reon watches as Tendou continues to coddle the two youngest members in their group. Both of you trying to get away from Tendou refuse to let go.

Semi flipped to another page, this time there was a picture of you and him. Both of you standing near the grill as he teaches you how to properly cook meat, while you eagerly wait by the sides, all the while watching the meat being grilled on top of the fire. Eyes almost sparkling at how mouthwatering it is. At the bottom another caption was written, _baby’s first barbecue._

"I think I found my new favorite" Semi looked up from the photobook he's holding to Tendou still gushing over Goshiki and (Y/n). "Satori, send me a soft copy of this one"

"Roger!"

Finally, after almost thirty minutes both you and Goshiki were finally able to push the redhead away as you all clean up the dirty dishes, throwing away the plastics and food crumbs into the trash can. Then resuming back to their study session.

* * *

The next day, morning practice was starting a bit later than usual so the gym was still half-empty, the only occupants were the regulars who decided to come early and do their own pre-practice warm-ups. Semi was doing his usual jump serves with Yamagata receiving the balls to practice more on his digs. While on the other net, Shirabu was practicing with Goshiki after some begging from the first-year’s side.

You watch as Semi spins a ball on his hands, licking his lips, something he does whenever he’s trying to pinpoint where he wants the ball to land before throwing it in the air and jumping. Cringing at the sound of his palm colliding with the ball and watching as Yamagata runs to receive it.

“That was by the line!” your eyes went wide in awe, running to retrieve the ball and jogging back to Semi’s side of the net. Yamagata let out a sigh wiping his sweat with his shirt.

“That’s the kind of serve that will annoy you the most”

Semi bounces the ball a few times, before pausing and turning to you. “Do you want to try (Y/n)?”

You nodded your head, eager to learn from one of the best servers in your team. You always find them very cool whenever they do those awesome spikes and jump serves. To you, they look like they’re flying whenever they jump so high, you were feeling a bit envious about it.

Standing beside Semi, he explained to you how to angle your hand properly and the timing of when to hit the ball.

“What’s your dominant hand?” 

You lift up your left hand and said “This one”

“Oh? You’re a lefty [1] too?” the both of you turn to look at the ace to see that he had started listening as well “Just like Wakatoshi”

“Try doing a normal serve for now” standing by the service line, you readied your position, as Yamagata took a receiving stance at the other side of the net.

“Give it all you’ve got (Y/n)-chan!”

You nodded your head, throwing the ball, watching it before hitting it with your hand as hard as you can, which was a lot for a newbie. Yamagata dove to get the ball, the object bouncing off his arm and shooting off to the side.

“One point for (Y/n)!” you heard Tendou’s voice from the other side of the gym as Semi applauds your good work. You started feeling giddy, hitting that ball was so satisfying you feel like the stress you were currently having this morning was starting to ease just a little bit.

“Do it again (Y/n)-chan!” Goshiki’s voice reached your ears as he abandoned Shirabu, who let out a sigh of relief, finally able to take the rest he had been wanting.

“How about a jump serve?” Ushijima suggested, as he too walked to your group, now interested in your new-found talent.

Semi twirled the ball in his hand, biting the inside of his cheek. “That one’s a bit tricky Wakatoshi”

“She can do it” Ushijima turns to look at you as Goshiki keeps on slapping your back, getting excited for some reason, and honestly, you were excited as well. Ushijima rarely shows this kind of interest, so for someone who only learned the basics of volleyball through reading the manual and watching it, it was a shock for you.

“Can I?” you ask, your eyes sparkling “It never hurts to try”

Now, with you looking at him like that, how could Semi say no? you just look so cute he really has to stop himself from pinching those cheeks of yours.

“Alright, but I think Wakatoshi can teach you better” Semi threw the ball to Ushijima who nodded his head, wordlessly taking his position at the serving line. You watch how he handles the ball, you don’t even know if there’s a difference with righties serving compared to the lefties, but you paid attention anyways. Watching him run, jump, and hit the ball as hard as he can.

Semi just sighed, Ushijima didn’t even say anything, he just did what he normally did. As if expecting you to learn something from it. But then again, Ushijima did the same thing to Goshiki once when the first-year asked how to improve his line shots, he can’t judge too soon.

Bouncing the ball a few times, you threw it in the air watching as you slowly run before jumping and serving it to the other side, the ball hitting the backline.

“Two points!” Everyone cheered for you, the others sporting surprise looks on their face. Jump serves were very hard to do, most would normally be hitting the net or the ball going out of bounce. But you, just one look at a live sample and voila, success.

“Do it again, (Y/n)-chan! This time I’ll make sure to receive it!” you grin at Yamagata’s challenge, doing the same thing you did the first time. You hit the ball with the hardest one you could muster. Watching as it spins fast, going past Yamagata and narrowly hitting Coach Saito in the face.

The coach blinks, frozen on his spot as he silently thanks whatever deities that decided to grace him with their blessings. Everyone was quiet, shocked at what just happened. He turned his head, his eyes scanning whoever was the culprit of his near-death experience only to see you standing at the service line.

“I-I think that’s enough for now” he cleared his throat, tucking the clipboard he’s holding under his arms “Let’s prepare for practice”

You all nodded your head, gathering the stray balls and tossing them into the basket, mopping up the sweat that dropped on the floor as the rest of the members started piling into the gym.

Practice went by pretty fast, Coach Washijou had to cut it short because exam week was approaching and according to the school rule book, extracurricular activities must be shortened in order to give the students more time to study. 

They were currently having their post-practice snacks, filling their hungry stomach with some delicious food as they rest their body. The practice may have been short but it doesn’t mean Coach Washijou made it easy, in fact, he made it even harder.

You were sitting cross-legged on the floor, finishing up the notes you were writing earlier, sipping on a juice box you brought with you while your other hand moved across the white pages of your notebook. Seeing as your pen was running out of ink, you placed your juice box on the floor then reaching over for your bag to retrieve another one. Just as you were about to take another sip of your drink, it slipped from your grasp, landing on your lap, its contents spilling over your notes.

“Motherfucker” you were too focused cleaning yourself up that you didn’t hear Semi’s dramatic gasp, the curse that left your lips was foreign to his ears as he had never heard you say such a vulgar word before.

“Uh-oh”

Those who were closest to the door quietly slipped out, they knew what was coming next, and they’re not going to be a part of it. The coaches watched from the sidelines as Semi started lecturing them about their choices of words, reminding them that no swear words allowed in the presence of the first years.

Washijou-sensei shot his assistant a look, eyebrows raised “It was you, wasn’t it?”

Coach Saito sheepishly scratches his cheek, as he remembers how the swear word left his lips yesterday when he hit his hip at the side of the table. Not realizing that you were standing outside, ready to give to him the report he requested. He didn’t even know that such a thing was forbidden within the club, he quickly reminded himself to watch his language the next time the first years were around, he doesn’t want Semi going all mama mode again.

* * *

Lunch was spent eating together in the cafeteria, sitting at their usual table as they enjoyed the break from their tiring classes. Although the dining area was pretty rowdy, it did serve as a distraction from whatever their teachers prepared for their afternoon sessions.

“Today’s korokke has shrimp in it” Tendou took another bite of the fried dish, the food still hot and fresh. “Yummy”

“But…” Kawanishi started, his eyes shifting over to you as you munch on your own piece of korokke “(Y/n)’s allergic to shrimp”

The table went quiet as they all looked at you, they didn’t know that, why didn’t you tell them?

“Oh my god, her allergy is reacting” Semi stood up from his seat as red dots started to appear on your face, you gave the remaining korokke to Goshiki as you scratch your arm, your whole body feeling itchy.

“Let’s take her to the infirmary”

They quickly led you to the nurse’s office, the red dots that were just around your mouth had now spread all over your face. Looking as if you had just contracted chickenpox.

Thankfully, the nurse was still in her office when they arrived so you were immediately given some medicine to stop your allergy from becoming worse.

“You’ll have to go back to your room and take a rest for the rest of the day, then come back tomorrow again so I could give you another check-up. Alright?”

She handed you the excuse note for you to give to your teachers the next day as you stood up from your seat, thanking the nurse then exiting the room to see that the boys had waited for you outside.

“So, what did she say?”

“I’m excused from my classes this afternoon” you showed them the paper the nurse gave you. Shirabu reading through what she wrote, Kawanishi reading the paper’s contents from over his shoulder.

“I need one too”

“Why? are you sick?”

“No, I just want to skip class today”

Semi sighs at what the middle blocker just said, if anything, Kawanishi was definitely the laziest among them all. Always looking for ways to avoid any activities he finds energy consuming, Semi was quite surprised Kawanishi had not tried sending their coach a fake medical certificate just so he could skip practice for a few days.

Oh wait, he did, and he got away with it.

“You look like a tomato” Goshiki pokes you on the cheek, the redness slowly fading but your face still slightly swollen. “Tomato-chan~”

Tendou grinned at the cute nickname, tomato-chan? He was so going to start calling you that from now on.

“Oh wait (Y/n), let me take a picture of you first. This would be a great addition to my scrapbook” Tendou patted his pockets for his phone but he felt none. “Eh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I think I left my phone in the cafeteria” Tendou answered, slipping his hand inside his pockets for good measure, but the device was nowhere to be found. “Reon let me borrow your phone for a bit”

Reon shook his head “I left mine in the cafeteria as well”

“What?!” Tendou turned to look at the rest of the members as they too shook their heads.

You chuckled, patting his back “Guess there won’t be any funny photos of me for the time being” you started walking away waving at them. “See you tomorrow”

They waved back as they went back to the cafeteria until a phone ringing cut through the silence. Ushijima stops in his tracks, fishing the phone from his pocket as he realizes that he forgot he brought it along with him the whole time.

“Wakatoshi-kun, why didn’t you tell me you had your phone with you?”

“I apologize Tendou, do you still want to take that photo?”

They turned their heads to the direction you left but you weren’t there anymore. Tendou’s shoulder slump, the opportunity to finally have a derpy picture of you gone and would probably be far into the future.

Yamagata just let out a laugh. “It seems like the goddess Kichijoten [2] favors (Y/n) more than anyone else”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] I'm a lefty, so self-promo I guess? lol  
> [2] she's the Japanese goddess of beauty.
> 
> follow me on [Tumblr](https://ohkiyo.tumblr.com/) I need more friends. XD


	5. Tokyo Drift

“We’re going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship, zooming through the sky! Little Einsteins~” both you and Goshiki bounce on your seat at the back of the bus, singing the theme song of the cartoon you two watch for fun a few days ago. “Climb aboard, get ready to explore there’s so much to find little Einsteins~”

“Aren’t they excited?” a fond smile made its way into Semi’s face as he watches the two first years belting their hearts out to a song made for children. Tendou and Yamagata joining the two, causing the overall noise inside the bus to increased in volume. Their English pronunciation was horrible, but it didn’t stop them from sharing their – talent.

Kawanishi, who was two seats away from the four was also humming along, snacking on a chocolate bar, his phone on his hand capturing it all on camera, probably for future blackmail material. While Shirabu who was seated beside him, continues to sleep, unbothered by the ruckus happening inside the bus.

“This is their first time going to Tokyo after all” Reon answered, before he tilted his head to the side when they switch to a different song, this time, it was Tendou’s famous baki baki ni ore. “Since when did Satori taught them that?”

“Probably since the moment they joined”

They were currently on their way to Tokyo for a practice match with another college volleyball team, the colleges that they use to play against in Miyagi were coincidentally busy with academics, something about an upcoming exam that they need to prepare for so they had to cancel.

Fortunately, with Shiratorizawa being a powerhouse school, Coach Saito and Washijou-sensei had connections to institutions outside of Miyagi. So they called up a friend who’s currently handling a college volleyball team and requested for a practice match.

The singing lasted for another thirty minutes before they eventually fell asleep, the bus now quiet. Washijou-sensei who was seated up front, let out a sigh of relief, thankful for the silence, something that Semi and Reon didn’t fail to notice. The two chuckled, as strict as he may be, Washijou-sensei knows when to let his players have their fun, he isn’t exactly a killjoy like some had thought. He’s actually very nice, once you get to know him of course.

* * *

“You’re allowed to go sightseeing but please always bring a buddy with you, to prevent anyone from getting lost” his eyes landed on the older members, silently asking them to keep a close eye on their two first years. “Washijou-sensei and I will be meeting up with Coach Sasaki, so be back before 11”

Everyone nods their heads at his words before the two finally entered the elevator once it reaches your floor. The hotel you were staying at was a bit high class, you don’t know how the club’s fund covered it, but you weren’t complaining.

Each one of you had your own separate room, each guest had three food slips with, one was a free access to an eat-all-you-can food at the dining area’s buffet, while the other two were for a free breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

“So...” Tendou turned around, a grin plastered on his face as he held up the food slip the receptionist gave earlier. “Let’s go fill up our belly and enjoy Tokyo’s nightlife”

With that all nine of you piled into the elevator and press the button for the ground floor, the space a little too tight for your liking. The elevator stops at another floor, two new people entered, resulting in them moving backward to create a space for the newcomers, leaving you to press yourself to the wall.

“Sorry (Y/n)” Ushijima whispered, after accidentally stepping on your foot, he looks over his shoulder as you gave him a thumbs up. Your face now buried on his shirt, his perfume entering your nostrils.

He sure does smell nice, no wonder the girls are after him.

Luckily, for you, your struggle did not last long because finally, the elevator reaches the bottom floor. You swore you almost past out because of how cramp that space was, you feel like you were starting to develop claustrophobia because of it. For a fancy hotel, they sure have very small elevators.

Your group weaves through the other guest inside the hotel, some of them going back to their rooms; some were going the same way as you all were, while the others were going out to enjoy whatever Tokyo has to offer.

“Tokyo hotels are on another level” you whispered, following after them as they went over to where the eating utensils were placed. You carefully scanned the foods displayed, cuisines coming from different countries were all too delicious-looking, you feel like you want to have a plate of each.

“You’re drooling (Y/n)” you heard Shirabu say as he walks past you, the person that was standing behind the counter chuckled as you rub the spit that unknowingly trickled down your chin.

“Sorry”

“It’s fine” she laughs again before she suggested the lamb meat for you to taste. You haven’t tried lamb before so you accepted her offer, watching as she threw in a bunch of slices into the grill. “Well done or medium?”

“Well done please” she started tossing the meat around the steel griddle, the wonderful smell reaching your nose. It smelled so delicious, as the meat slowly turns to that familiar charred look of a well-cooked meat. Once she was done, she places it on your plate as she suggested for you to drizzle it with some of the sauce near the grills.

You moved from one area to another, filling your plate with foods before finally taking a seat on the table they occupied.

“Now we know who are the best people to bring to buffets” Yamagata mused, eyeing yours and Goshiki’s plate filled with different kinds of food, not only that, there were at least one or two more plates on the side also filled with foods.

“They’re big eaters”

Kawanishi took a piece of meat from your plate, exchanging it with a fried dumpling that he accidentally dipped in a spicy sauce. He can handle his spice, however, this particular dip was so spicy his mouth was burning from it.

“Kawanishi-san why…?” you took the glass of cold water Ushijima offered you as you drank it all. It didn’t help though, your mouth was still burning, so Semi fed you a spoonful of chocolate ice cream, the dessert finally easing the flames in your mouth.

“Sorry (Y/n)” Kawanishi bit his lip to stop the smile threatening to come out, secretly sharing a low five with Tendou from under the table. However, that didn’t go unnoticed from Semi’s watchful eyes, stepping on the red head’s foot, Semi shoots him a pointed look as Tendou tries to remove his leg.

“Ow, ow, Semi-Semi that hurts”

The setter didn’t listen to him and continued eating his meal, they all ate in silence after that. Too hungry to strike a conversation with each other, their attention focus on the food in front of them.

Dinner went by fast, once they had finished their food they went out of the hotel and walk through Tokyo. The streets are a little too crowded than the ones they’re used to in Sendai, passing by different kinds of coffee shops, restaurants, inns, and hotels. The choices were endless, it all depends on where you all plan to go.

“Let’s go there first, I want to buy some manga” Tendou pointed at a rather large book shop just across the street, customers walking in and out of the store, wrapped packages in hand.

The inside was filled with rows and rows of shelves full of books, such as novels, textbooks, and of course, manga, on the sides were a section for school supplies and other similar materials. Tendou looks like he’s in heaven because the store offers manga that wasn’t available in Sendai. The moment his foot steps inside the store, he immediately disappeared behind the shelves where the manga was displayed.

“Wasn’t this the book Yato-sensei told us to buy?” Shirabu opened the textbook, skimming through its contents.

“Its ¥2,000” Kawanishi taps the price tag of the same book he’s holding. Shirabu pinches his lips together, closing the book and putting it back to where it belonged.

“Nope, I’ll just borrow from the library”

They move to the end of the aisle to see you holding a basket filled with different kinds of stationeries, Reon and Ushijima also going through the pens and notebooks they had on display before dropping it inside the basket you were holding.

“That’s a lot of pens (Y/n)” Goshiki drops a couple packs of sticky notes in your basket before grabbing a pen and examining it. The little penguin at the top sparking his curiosity as he clicks it, the ball-point emerging from the bottom part of the object.

“My pen’s keeps on disappearing, along with my highlighters and I don’t know who’s taking them” Goshiki stayed quiet at your reply, blinking at you, once, then twice before he slowly returned it in the basket. Reon let out a quiet laugh, fully aware that it was Goshiki who keeps taking your school supplies and not returning them.

Goshiki grabs three more pens and two more highlighters, the exact number of stationeries he took then dropping it in the basket. “I’ll buy these for you (Y/n)-chan”

You smiled at him in gratitude, standing in line at the cashier. “Thank you ‘Tomu-kun”

After paying for the items, you were once again back to the cold street. Aimlessly walking towards your next destination.

“Let’s go to a karaoke bar” Yamagata suggested, zipping up his jacket as the cold had become a little too much for him. Letting out a shiver from the cold air.

“Sure” they located the nearest karaoke bar, entering the establishment. They paid for the amount required for a one-hour session, before entering an empty room. Semi, Tendou, and Yamagata going for the songbook and choosing what song they’re going to sing, while you, Goshiki, and Ushijima went through the menu instead.

“So who’s first?” Tendou’s hand shot up as Yamagata gave him the mic, pressing his song’s code as the title flash on the screen.

“You’re singing Lion King?” Semi laughs watching as Tendou dance around to the song’s opening beat.

“The song has been stuck in my head for a long time now” the redhead cleared his throat before he started singing the first verse.

“There’s a Japanese version of that song?” Kawanishi whispered in surprise, Tendou’s jolly voice and merry demeanor fitting so well with _I Just Can’t Wait To Be King’s_ upbeat tune. It was as if the song was made for him.

_10:15pm_

There were only 15 minutes left before the one hour expires, Shirabu was singing some sort of heartbreak song, while sitting on top of Kawanishi who was laying sideways munching on some chips. Totally unbothered by the weight on top of him.

The setter ends his song, a cue for everyone to start packing their stuff and go back to the hotel before Coach Saito and Washijou-sensei catches them still walking around after curfew.

* * *

It’s been three hours since you went to bed and unfortunately not once were you able to get a wink of sleep, nightmares were plaguing your mind. Two people, you’ve never met before constantly visits you in your dreams. It was a man and a woman, you couldn’t see their face but their voices you could hear.

They sometimes try to talk to you, asking how you were doing, if you were alright, or simply saying words of encouragement whenever you were feeling down. Sometimes they were accompanied by another girl, a teenager, who looks like the 15-year-old version of your aunt.

Once again, you turned on your side, pulling your blanket a little closer, screwing your eyes shut. However, it wouldn’t work, so you sat up, and check your phone.

_1:30 am_

You chewed on your bottom lip, contemplating whether or not you should bother one of your teammates. They had a game tomorrow and you don’t want to disturb their sleep, but you were getting restless, and you’re afraid that you might not be able to fall asleep at all.

Finally making up your mind, you got up from your bed, grabbing your phone, key card, before exiting your room. Walking down the hallway towards Goshiki’s room, you have a feeling he’s still awake since he likes to play games until the wee hours of the night.

Standing on his door, you knock twice, pulling at the bottom of your shirt as you look left and right. The empty hallway looking a little too creepy for your liking, you knock again and this time it finally opened, a half-asleep Goshiki greeting you.

“(Y/n)?” he rub his eyes as he opened the door wider, letting you inside. “Did you have nightmares again?”

You nodded your head. “Can I sleep with you?”

“Sure” you followed him to his bed as he took the other side and you on the other. Both of you laying under the covers facing each other. “Better now?”

“Yes, thank you” he gave you one last sleepy smile before closing his eyes. So far, Goshiki was the only one who knows of your nightmares, after he discovered you one time during your first training camp crying under a table.

He was the one who comforted you and offered to let you sleep with him, it somehow became a routine and whenever you would knock on his door, he immediately knows what’s wrong.

* * *

The door to Goshiki’s room burst open as a group of panicked Shiratorizawa upperclassmen barge into the room. Goshiki having heard of his door nearly tearing off its hinges, sat upon his bed. “Senpai?”

Semi marches over to him, grabbing his shoulders and basically shaking him awake. “(Y/n)’s gone, she’s not in her room. We can’t find her anywhere”

“What?”

“Oh man, oh man. If the coach finds out we’re screwed” Yamagata and Tendou grips their hair in frustration, as Reon and Ushijima discuss the possibilities of your disappearance. Kawanishi and Shirabu though were the only ones calm in this situation. 

“Huh?” Goshiki’s brain still wasn’t working though as he still sat there in a daze, unaware of the growing problem his upperclassmen were having.

Kawanishi ruffles his hair as he looks around the room, shifting from one foot to another, before his eyes landed on a lump he failed to notice before that was beside the first year. He taps Shirabu on the shoulder then pointing at the said lump, who was starting to move, leaning dangerously close to the edge of the bed before falling off and landing on the floor with a thud. Bringing the blanket along with them.

“What?” they watch as you continued to snore away on the floor, the fall clearly didn’t affect you in the slightest.

Shirabu shots Goshiki a look of suspicion as the rest shakes you awake. “Why is (Y/n) sleeping with you?”

He didn’t really get any answer because Goshiki just looks at him, still half-asleep.

A scandalized gasp left Tendou’s lips as he points a shaky finger towards the spiker. “Did you and (Y/n) do something? You’re only first years, wait until you’re in college!”

“Satori, what are you talking about?”

“Tendou, I think you took this the wrong way” Ushijima’s hand landed on Tendou’s shoulder, as the redhead whips his head to the captain.

“But Wakatoshi-kun you can’t be too sure!”

“(Y/n) probably got scared and went to Tsutomu for help” Reon started pushing them all out of the room. Semi carrying you, still wrap in Goshiki’s blanket, leaving the first year still sitting on his bed. Once his door clicks shut, he fell back on his bed and went back to sleep.

* * *

“Let’s have a good game!”

You carefully arrange the water bottles and towels on the bench as your team and the college team had their match. Diligently doing your duties as a manager.

“Hello” you look up to see your opponents’ manager standing there, giving you an easy smile, stretching out her hand for you to take. “My name is Mikana Ritsu, nice you meet you”

“(L/n) (Y/n), nice to meet you too Mikana-san” you answered, grasping her hand and giving it a firm shake.

She took a seat on the spare bench, with you taking the place beside her. “I didn’t know they had a manager, are you new?”

“Yes, I’m a first year. I started just a few months ago”

She let out a hum in response as the both of you observe the game in silence, leaving your spot once in a while to assist your respective players before sitting back down again and watching the game. From beside you, Mikana lets out a long yawn as she covers her mouth with the clipboard she’s holding.

“Are you Mikana-san?”

She nodded, another yawn leaving her lips. “I had to stay up very late last night for my research paper” she chuckled. “Sleep is very hard to come by when you’re in college”

You turn to look at the older girl, a question forming in your mind due to your curious nature. “Mikana-san, how is college like?”

She taps her chin for a moment, looking up at the ceiling to figure out the best answer for your question. “It’s an emotional roller coaster you know? One moment you’re smiling, then the next you’re crying your eyes out”

She turns her body to look at you. “I remember during my first year that my history teacher vowed to fail all of us because the school has enough students already”

You look at her incredulously, surprised at what she said.

“She made her exams and quizzes very difficult, and her projects were also very ridiculous” she huffs in annoyance, bad memories resurfacing. “We didn’t understand at first why she was doing it, but eventually we found out that she was having problems with her dissertation and she’s taking out all her frustrations on us”

You stared at her wide-eyed, your mouth open agape. The fuck? “We all passed though, so suck for her”

“That was just mean”

“I know right?” she lets out a sigh, before standing up from her seat and re-wrapping their setter’s fingers with tape. Tying it to his preferred tightness before she went back to her spot and him going back into court. “Then we have our thesis”

“Oh yeah, I sometimes see students having breakdowns because of it. Is it really that bad?”

“The process of doing it is very hard, because not only do you have to choose your own topic, you have to choose a very specific one and one that has a lot of references available” you nodded your head, listening to her every word. “Getting rejected is fairly common, so you have to go through the process again and then present it to your panelist”

“When you do your defense, is it scary?”

She laugh at your choices of words, but she can’t really deny it though, because she did felt scared whenever they had a defense. “It’s nerve-wracking honestly, you have to prepare an answer for every possible question or else they’ll reject your paper”

“And you have to repeat all over again” she nods. “That’s so tiring”

“It is, but we have to comply or else we’ll never graduate”

“True”

You both talk throughout the game, until the final whistle was blown and the match finally ended, your team winning the match.

“Shiratorizawa High is still as strong as ever I see” she mused, watching as both teams gave each other a bow. “Congratulations (L/n)-chan”

“Thank you Mikana-san”

You both went on your separate ways, tending to your own players. Giving them their towels, and water bottles along with their snacks. After your final goodbye, you all entered the bus, driving back towards your hotel. It was still early, 3:00 pm in Tokyo is still very lively compared to in Sendai. Most people prefer to stay indoors due to the intense heat, however, a bustling city will always be busy no matter what time of the day.

“We’ll be leaving early tomorrow, so if any of you have anything buy. Souvenirs and other things, you can do so right now. But as always, bring a buddy with you and be back by 11” Coach Saito reminded one last time, before he and Washijou-sensei went inside the hotel, probably to rest and get some sleep before they go out again.

“I actually have some things to buy at the mall” Semi started adjusting his bag on his shoulder.

“Me too” Yamagata said, rummaging through his bag to find his phone, he almost started panicking when he didn’t saw it, but immediately let out a relieved sigh when he saw the device hiding under his sweaty shirt.

“We saw some souvenir shops a few blocks away from here, we’ll be over there”

Once everything was settled and everyone had decided where they want to go. You all separated, Semi, Reon, Ushijima, Yamagata, and Shirabu going to the mall to buy the things they needed while you, Tendou, Kawanishi, and Goshiki decided to walk around instead.

Going through the various shops that were selling different types of souvenirs from shirts to mugs, to keychains and other kinds of stuff.

“(Y/n)-chan, do you have my phone with you?” Goshiki patted his pockets as he looks for the said device.

“It’s in my bag” to patted the backpack you were carrying, adjusting it on your shoulder before letting out a groan at how heavy it is. “Kawanishi-san can we exchange bags? This one’s very heavy”

He nodded his head, pulling the strap over his head as you exchange bags, you let out a sigh of relief, thankful that the strain on your shoulders are now gone. The smell of freshly cook taiyakis catching your attention as the four of you speedwalk towards the stall making it, the food still hot and fresh.

“Ah, hot, hot, hot” Tendou rapidly let out a breath of air to cool down the burning of his tongue and the roof of his mouth. Not expecting for it to be too hot.

You gently blew on your taiyaki, waiting for it to cool down, before you started taking small bites. As your group resume walking along the streets, you spotted a shop filled with trinkets, calling for their attention you all entered the store.

They had a wide range of displays, and although some were a bit expensive, it wasn’t stopping you from buying what you want. The allowance your Aunt gives you every week could literally last you a month, and so any extra money you had, you deposit it in your bank account and wait for the time when you have to use it.

Walking over to Kawanishi, you took your wallet from your bag before you walk off to where they had plushies on display, that dolphin plushy the only thing on your mind right now. Taking the dolphin from its spot on the shelf, you examined it, before looking at a similar one but this time it was a bit bigger. Not too much, so you were contemplating which one to buy.

“The big one looks very comfy though” Goshiki appears beside you, holding a scarf, a cap, and a sweater. “You can snuggle it to sleep”

“Yeah, but don’t you think it’s a little too big?”

He observes the two carefully taking in their size, but still, he preferred the bigger one, so you followed his suggestion.

“Oh! Why not take this one too?” he grabs a tomato plushie of the same size. “Tomato-chan~”

You flick him on the forehead. “I can’t believe you’re sticking with that nickname”

“It’s funny though” he grinned at you.

“Tsutomu, (Y/n) let’s go” the both of you didn’t hear Tendou called you out, as the two of you stayed there. Goshiki insisting that he buys the tomato plushie for you, while you immediately denying his offer because it was already too much. It cost about a thousand yen, and he still has the items he’s holding. Not only that, you still remembered how he bought you those pens and highlighters last night.

The bell hanging at the top of the door rang as the two middle blockers left the shop, unknowingly leaving the two of you behind.

They cross the street, turning a few more corners. Before they were back to the same book store everyone went to last night. Tendou wanting to buy a few more mangas, then Kawanishi forgot he needs to buy a new calculator because he broke his old one. He could just buy one in Sendai, but why wait when he could just do it now?

“(Y/n) can you get my wallet? It’s in the-“ Kawanishi turns around, but no signs of the two first years. He looks from left to right, thinking that maybe they’re just around the corner, but alas, there were no Goshiki, and (Y/n).

“Uh… Tendou-san” Kawanishi tugs on the red head’s jacket as Tendou turns around.

“Hmm, what is it Taichi?”

“(Y/n) and Tsutomu are gone”

Tendou’s eyebrows furrowed as he looks behind the second year, thinking that maybe he was just pulling a prank on him, but still, like before, no first years in sight.

“Oh dear”

* * *

“I can’t believe you actually bought the tomato plushie” you stared at the red-colored plush inside the bag you were holding. Both of you exiting the shop.

“Told you I’d buy it” he looks proud though, you don’t know why, but you’re very grateful for the gift. You note to yourself to get him something in return in the future. “Are Tendou-san and Kawanishi-san still inside?”

“Maybe” he went back inside the shop, as you waited outside the door. When he went back out, he looks worried, which also made you worried.

“Something wrong?”

“They’re not inside”

Your eyes widened. “What?”

He rub his arms, as he went back inside again to check. But still, they weren’t there anymore, walking back out, he shook his head.

“Did they just left us?”

“Probably”

“Should we go find them?” you started fidgeting on your spot, before you remembered, you had Kawanishi’s bag with you. Opening his bag you located his phone only to be left disappointed when you find out it’s dead. “Great, now we can’t contact them”

“Should we go back to the hotel instead?”

“I don’t even know which way our hotel is”

Both of you shared a heavy exhale, retracing your steps to where you both felt your hotel was located. However, you both accidentally took a wrong turn and were now in a different part of the city.

“I knew leaving that place was a bad idea”

“Oh. Aren’t you two from Shiratorizawa?” you saw two persons walking over your direction, wearing a light green and yellow track jacket and track pants.

“Yes” you answered, the one who was currently talking looks nice, you don’t know about his companion though. Even with half of his face covered with a mask, you could still feel the intensity of his stare.

“Ah. I’m Komori Motoya, and this is Sakusa Kiyoomi” he pointed to his friend. “We’re from Itachiyama, we went against your school before”

Itachiyama, the school is familiar, but these two? Not very much. However, they seem nice.

“Are the others with you?” Komori looks around the vicinity. “I don’t see them”

“Uh…”

“You got lost didn’t you?” it was Sakusa who asks this time and Komori let out a laugh.

“We can’t contact them because this phone is dead-” you showed them Kawanishi’s phone. “-and it’s also the only one we have right now”

Komori turns to look at Sakusa. “You have Ushijima’s number right? Why don’t you give him a call, they might be worried right now”

Wordlessly, Sakusa fished his phone from his pocket and dialed your captain’s number, pressing the loudspeaker button. It rang a few times before Ushijima finally picks up.

_“Hello?”_

“We found your stray” Sakusa answered before putting the phone in front.

“Ushijima-san!”

_”(Y/n)? Goshiki? Where are you two?”_

You both look at the two, but Komori answered for you. “We’re in front of the Kamakura coffee shop, where are you?”

_“In front of the Marimo bookstore [1]”_

_“_ Alright stay there, we’ll be there in ten minutes”

_“Alright”_

The call ended and the four of you made your way towards the bookstore, Komori was the only talkative one between the two, instantly befriending the both of you. Although Sakusa would sometimes participate in the conversation, majority of it, he prefers to listen.

“So, what are you doing here in Tokyo?” Komori questioned.

“We had a practice match with a college team today” Goshiki answered, holding your hand to avoid getting separated from the group, his initial fear from when he discovered you two got left behind still present.

“Are teams in Miyagi too weak to handle Shiratorizawa?” Sakusa’s eyes momentarily shift in your direction before focusing forward.

“I guess so” you shrug your shoulders, you were told no high schools in Miyagi wants to have a joint practice with your school anymore, and you don’t really know the reason behind it. So you can’t really say they’re all weak.

Thankfully ten minutes later, you arrive at Marimo Bookstore to see your seniors waiting in front of the building in worry.

“(Y/n), Tsutomu. There you are!” Tendou was about to give you two a big hug, but Semi beat him to it by bonking the two of you on the head.

“You idiots! What did I say about wandering around?!”

“We weren’t wandering around! We were just inside the shop when Tendou-san and Kawanishi-san left us!” you replied with a pout, rubbing your head as Semi shot the two a glare as they both look away. Kawanishi casually whistling a tune whilst Tendou rocks himself back and forth on the soles of his feet.

“Well, we’ve delivered the package. We have to go now, see you guys next time” Komori wave your group goodbye as Reon and Semi said their thanks.

Sakusa gave Ushijima a nod before turning around. “See you at nationals Wakatoshi”

“Of course”

They both left, their tall figures disappearing into the crowd, as your group went back to your hotel. Upon arriving at your lodging, you stumbled along with Coach Saito and Washijou-sensei near the entrance, the two older men inquiring of your shopping spree. Everyone answered the question as honestly as they could, leaving out the details of yours and Goshiki’s little accident.

Satisfied, they both left while your group went back to your own room to enjoy the rest of your stay, and to avoid any more mishaps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] anyone here who also watches sekai-ichi hatsukoi?
> 
> as always followed me on [tumblr](https://ohkiyo.tumblr.com/)


	6. Fevers Are No Fun

You gathered all the dirty towels and training bibs, dropping them into the basket you were holding so they could be wash. Humming a tune under your breath as you walk around the expanse of the gym to collect them all, practice for the day had already ended and the first years were in charge of cleaning up. The higher years were slowly retreating to their own dorm room to retire for the night.

“We’ll be going now” Tendou walks pass you, waving his hand as goes to where the others were standing by the door. Already washed and changed into fresh clothes.

“See you tomorrow”

“You have your umbrella with you right?” Semi looks at the sky and frowning at the approaching thunderclouds. “It looks like it’s going to rain again”

“I have one in my bag”

He nodded his head before they finally head out, leaving you and the rest of the first years to continue cleaning the gym. The boys now mopping the floor while the others gather all the volleyballs scattered in all corners of the gym, then throwing them into the basket where they are usually kept.

You went into the back area, loading the dirty towels and training bibs into the washing machine. Putting in the right amount of detergent and fabric softener before pressing the start button.

“The weather’s been very bad since we came back from Tokyo” Goshiki observes the dark clouds looming over the rest of the buildings around the campus. Flashes of lightning could be seen running through the sky. “It’s not even the rainy season yet”

“A new typhoon’s probably entering the country again” Sagae drops the mop he was holding as he helps you push the basket filled with volleyballs back into the storage room. The others following behind you already finished cleaning up. They pass you the mops, as you neatly place them where they were usually hung together.

You check the gym one last time, surveying the area for any more equipment that was left behind, before walking out and locking the storage room.

“It really started raining” Akakura slings his bag over his shoulder, rummaging through it for his umbrella.

The trees outside were swaying harshly due to the strong winds that blew pass them, raindrops pelting heavily on the rooftop buildings then dropping down on to the ground.

“We’ll go on ahead now” Goshiki waves them goodbye as he waits for you to finish packing your things.

“’Tomu-kun, did you bring your umbrella with you?” he looks down at you frowning at your bag; the items that you stuff inside were once again spread out on the floor. “I think I left mine in my room”

“I don’t have mine either, I was hoping to share with you”

You stared at each other for a whole minute, before realizing that you two are stuck in there until the rain stops or at least calms down. He drops down on the ground beside you, stretching his legs as he sighs.

“Guess we just have to wait it out then” thankfully, the two of you do not have any homework nor any test to prepare for the next day. Classes were a bit lax now that the first round of major exams was finished, the teachers were too busy checking and grading the papers to even bother assigning the students' homework and other school-related tasks.

“I’m hungry” Goshiki places a hand on his stomach as he feels it grumbles, demanding him to provide it nutrients to replenish the ones he had shed during the practice.

You pulled out a ziplock bag containing three sandwiches, the ones you made before going to practice that afternoon. You last class of the day had to be shortened due to your teacher having an emergency to sort out at home, because of that, you had an hour before you were needed for practice and you used that time to get some sleep and prepare yourself some snacks.

“Here you go” you gave him the other two as he gratefully accepts them from you, a quick thank you leaving his lips before he stuffs the bread in his mouth. Eyes closed shut, as his hungry stomach is finally being filled.

“The foods you make always taste so good (Y/n)-chan” he says before he took another large bite as you pass him your water bottle, scared he might choke with how fast he’s consuming those sandwiches.

“Calm down Tsutomu”

You both ate in silence, facing the open steel doors and watching from your spot how the heavy rain wrecks havoc outside of your safe space. Scattering around the leaves that had fallen onto the ground, and destroying the brittle flowerbeds that the gardening club had set up earlier.

“This is hopeless, the rain’s never going to stop” you pout, as the rain becomes even worst. “I don’t want to stay here all night”

“We could run from here to the dorms” Goshiki suggested wiping his hand with his handkerchief before grabbing his bag then standing up. “It will take us about 5 minutes”

You thought about it for a moment, you only have two options present and neither one of them was a good idea. It’s either you wait for the rain to stop - which is never - or you could agree to Goshiki’s plan to just run through the rain, but you’ll end up getting drenched in the process.

“Okay, let’s go” you decided to settle with Goshiki’s suggestion and hope for the best you won’t get sick.

Standing up, you remove your jacket, slinging your bag over your shoulder then rolling your tracks pants all the way up to your knees. Draping your jacket over your head to act as your temporary shelter as you brace the rain.

“Ready?” you grip your jacket tighter, before the two of you sprint across the empty field, screaming at the top of your lungs. Your clothes become wetter by the second, the water sipping through the fabric and cooling your warm skin.

“Bye! (Y/n)-chan!”

“Bye!”

You both went your separate ways, with you running down the wet pathway leading towards your dormitory, the water splashing beneath your shoes, dirtying the footwear.

By the time you reach your dorm, you were soaked, the water pooling at your feet. You quickly ran up the stairs and towards your room, startling your roommate at the sight of you.

“Let me go get your towel first” she immediately stood from her desk to grab your towel from the hamper, as you wait for her out in the hallway. The rest of the female students residing in your floor were giving you weird looks, as they walk in and out of their dorm room.

“Did you forget your umbrella again?” she passed you the towel, then drops a floormat in front of your foot for you to wipe your wet shoes on.

“I thought I had it in my bag” you close the door behind you, removing your shoes and wet socks, along with your wet clothes and underwear before throwing them into your laundry basket. Hopping into the shower to wash yourself up, then changing into your warmest pair of pajamas, and blow-drying your hair before finally falling asleep.

* * *

You sat down on your desk, the headache you felt that morning had started to spread, now reaching your temples. Your sore throat, which was manageable just a few hours ago had become even worst and swallowing had become a challenge on your part.

“You’re sick” Goshiki leaned forward on his seat, the one that was in front of your desk, and stretch his hand to feel your forehead. “You’re running a fever (Y/n)-chan”

You remove his hand from your forehead, resting it on your desk. “I’m fine; the weather’s just warm is all”

“(Y/n)-chan, it’s raining” he pointed at the glass window to prove his point, as the rain once again showers the ground.

“Some people have high body temperatures ‘Tomu-kun, it’s no big deal” the look on his face really says it all, he doesn’t believe you. “I swear Tsutomu I’m fine”

He didn’t say a word after that, the teacher entering the classroom had ruined his opportunity to add more to his words. He turns on his chair to focus on the board as the teacher starts his lesson.

* * *

“(Y/n)-chan, you’re sick” this was the fourth time Goshiki had said this to you and its only lunch, the first three times you had denied them, you kept telling him that you were fine. However, each time that you do, a new symptom emerges.

During the second period, your throat started to get scratchy, a series of coughs racking your body, disrupting your class multiple times. In the third period a cold manifested, and now, the lunch that you were looking forward to eating does not seem appetizing at all.

“I hate this” you sniffled, staring at the chicken katsudon you bought. The smell of the chicken does nothing but makes you even more nauseous, you shook your head, pushing the bowl towards Goshiki.

“You need to go back to your room and rest; I’ll take you to the infirmary so you can get some medicine”

“I’ll attend our afternoon classes, but I’ll have to skip practice” you took a bite of the banana he gave you, hoping that at least it would compensate for the lack of proper meal.

After eating his lunch, you both went to Coach Saito and Washijou-sensei to request them to excuse you for a few days from practice. Not sure when your fever will subside, they gave you a week off and wish for your fast recovery.

Your afternoon classes went by in a daze; you immediately forgot what you did in class. You kind of regret not skipping the rest of your classes, but at least you got 5 points straight to your final grade because your science teacher was feeling generous that afternoon.

Once classes were done, you immediately went back to your room while Goshiki walks to practice alone.

“Where’s (Y/n)?” Semi asks, your absence from the first year’s side was the first thing he notices. You and Goshiki are always seen together that it was weird to see him alone.

“She had to do something for our teacher” he cleared his throat as he tried to maintain eye contact with the setter, remembering how you requested him not to tell the others of your fever. “So she might have to skip practice”

Semi seems to believe him though as he went back to bouncing the ball, Goshiki scurrying to the other side of the gym to start stretching. Hoping that no one else would have to question him.

“(Y/n)-chan’s absent today?” Yamagata looks around the area, his eyes failed to spot your figure which was usually beside their coach. Goshiki slowly moves to hide behind Ushijima, his tall figure covering him completely from their eyes.

“Tsutomu, you know where she went?” Goshiki had to curse Tendou’s observant eyes; he failed to realize the redhead was just standing beside their and already had his eyes on him the moment Yamagata started talking.

Ushijima look over his shoulder to see a mop of dark hair, he moved to the side, so Goshiki would have to give them properly his answer.

“She had to do something for our teacher” he said the same answer he gave to Semi earlier. However, some were not quite convinced though.

“Really? what would that be?” Shirabu peered at him through his growing bangs, the copper strands almost reaching his eyes.

“One of our teacher’s ask (Y/n)-chan to help her check the exam papers”

Semi places his hands on his hips as he sighs. “Tsutomu, I know you’re lying. What did you two do this time?”

“We didn’t do anything Semi-san!” Goshiki defended, pouting at how they would think you and him got in trouble again. Sure, you both may have served detention before, but it was only once.

“Are you sure Tsutomu?”

“Yes, Reon-san!”

Goshiki could only stare at them in disbelief. Gosh, he really shouldn't have promised to keep your fever a secret.

* * *

"I told you, go back to bed!"

"And I'm telling you, I'm fine!"

"What are they arguing about?" Sagae questioned, eyes never leaving the two first years glaring at each other at the back of the class. "This is the first time I've seen them fight"

"(L/n)'s still sick and Goshiki's been telling her to go back to her room to rest"

"Oh"

They both watch the spectacle happening before them, their voices being drowned out by the other students inside the class. Although, some had been watching as well. Curious as to why the two closest people in their class were fighting, though it could hardly be called a fight.

"(Y/n)-chan if you don't get some rest, you're never going to recover"

You huff, taking a seat on your chair as you adjust the face mask you've worn. "I really am fine Tsutomu, it's not as bad as it was yesterday"

It's not bad, but it doesn't mean you were comfortable, your nose was still runny and you were coughing every few minutes. But you refuse to miss your lessons, if you're still able to attend a class then you're going to do it even if you're sick.

"(Y/n)! Someone's at the door looking for you!" one of your classmates called out, pointing to the close door at the back part of the room.

You stood up, pulling down your mask as it had become harder for you to breathe. Opening the door, you were met with a tall figure. Their chest right in front of your face.

"...uh" you slowly lift your head up to come face to face with Semi's piercing gaze. "Semi-san good morning"

You nervously laugh, shifting from one foot to another.

"(Y/n), why are you in class?" his voice was calm, it’s soft, music to your ears. But the look on his face? One wrong answer and you’re definitely getting an exclusive nag session.

"Because it's a school day?" you knew what he was talking about and you knew for sure why he's here.

But your question is, who told him?

You tried to look behind him to spot the culprit and your eyes spotted the familiar mop of dark hair belonging to your roommate, who was standing behind Semi. When her eyes met yours, she just shrugs her shoulders.

Apart from Goshiki, she was the first one trying to convince you to skip classes and rest. But just as always, you dismissed her worry and ran out of your room towards class.

"(Y/n) answer me properly"

You bit your bottom lip, tightening your hold on the door’s handle. You slide the door close and quickly ran to the other one near the chalkboard, hoping to hide in the girls' comfort room until class starts.

However, just as you step foot out of your classroom, a hand shot out of nowhere, grabbing the back collar of your uniform.

"I'm taking you to the infirmary and you're going to stay put in your room until you're healthy" Semi dragged you across the hallway and towards the nurse's office. Your classmates crowding at the door to watch for anything that would happen next.

"Someone's in trouble" Kawanishi snickered, eyes following your and Semi's figure as the third year pulls you towards the infirmary. His large hands lock around your wrist to prevent you from running away.

“Semi-san was bound to find out sooner or later” Shirabu turns on his heel to return to his classroom, Kawanishi tailing behind him.

* * *

You sat on your bed, hugging your knees, staring at the little potted plant your aunt gave you. Its leaves all green and healthy, a product of you endlessly taking care of it.

You were currently alone in your room, your roommate went out to do something. You forgot what it was, but she told you about picking up someone, probably her classmate so they could do their homework.

A knock on your door reach your ears, you remained silent, the pain in your throat had made it hard for you to talk. (e/c) eyes now focus on the knob as it turned and eight tall bodies entered, all clad in their pajamas. Carrying all sorts of items.

"I'll be down the hall, have (Y/n) call me if you need anything"

You heard your roommate say from out in the hallway, before Semi finally closes the door, locking it.

"(Y/n)-chan, good evening" you gave Tendou a weak wave. He motioned for you to stand up as you did so slowly, your head spinning with every little move you make.

He took a hoodie from the bag they brought and put it on you, the material way too big for your body. He pulled out a jacket, putting it over the sweater you just wore before he wrap your neck with a scarf. For the finishing touch, Kawanishi drapes two layers of blanket over your head, wrapping it around your body.

It was soft and smelled nice, you felt so warm now. The layers of clothing coupled with the blanket were what you just needed.

"Don't you think she needs more?" Tendou rubs his chin, as you blink up at him.

"She will suffocate if you add more Tendou" Ushijima carefully sat you down again, folding the excess sleeves of the jacket and sweater you wore.

"Have you eaten anything yet?" you shook your head, which was a bad idea. "We have brought congee for you"

Reon passed you a bowl of the said food, as you cradled it in your hands. "Careful, it's still hot"

You scoop a small amount into your spoon as you gently blew on it, pushing the spoon in your mouth and tasting the food. It was delicious and easy for you to consume, the rice and pieces of shredded chicken sliding down your throat with ease. Your stomach finally settling on its chosen dinner.

Shirabu drags your chair and set up his laptop. A movie ready to be played on the video player for you all to enjoy while eating.

You patted the empty space beside you, Goshiki immediately claimed the spot on your left while Kawanishi and Shirabu claimed the other. The third years, sitting on the floor, each one holding their own bowl of food.

* * *

"So who's carrying who?" Yamagata stared at the cute sight in front of him, their four juniors had fallen asleep in the middle of the movie and was now snuggled against each other on your bed.

"Let's just wake them up" Reon gently shakes them awake, making sure not to disturb you. Goshiki was the first to wake up, followed by Shirabu and Kawanishi, each one letting out a yawn.

"Is the movie finished already?" Shirabu rubs his eyes as he stood up, stretching his arms.

"Yes, let's go back" Semi checked your temperature one last time before he carefully guides your body to lay down on the bed and resting your head on your soft pillow.

They gathered their belongings, leaving the ones they wrapped you with before exiting your room. Your roommate, escorting them out of the building.

The next day you woke up feeling refresh, your nose was cleared, your headache was gone, and your throat feeling better. You finally recovered from your fever and you were finally able to do your manager duties again.

However, you did not expect to be greeted by half of the team going down with the sickness you suffered the week prior.

"Achoo!" Goshiki let out a groan as he pressed a hand on his head. Dropping down on the bench as he accepts the tissue you gave him.

The coaches don’t know where it came from since you never step foot in the gym during the time that you were sick. They suspect that it’s the weather, the constant rain showers, and low temperatures were a definite factor.

"Guess flu season came early" Washijou-sensei let out a sigh before announcing that practice will be put on hold for a few days. Ordering his players to go back to their dorms and rest until it all goes away.


End file.
